A revamped version of Google\u2019s app store Google Play launched Tuesday with features including an integrated gaming platform that will soon incorporate AI assistance, a new curated content \u201cYou\u201d tab, and cross-device gameplay amid the tech giant\u2019s Google Play Games on PC offering moves out of the testing phase.<\/p>\n
Google\u2019s newly integrated gaming platform will rollout a \u201cPlay Games Sidekick\u201d feature in the coming months, which is described as a \u201chelpful in-game overlay available while playing games downloaded from Play.\u201d The tool \u201ccurates and organizes relevant gaming info\u201d and offers \u201cdirect access\u201d to Google\u2019s AI service, Gemini Live, for \u201creal-time guidance, so you can stay in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cLast December, Google DeepMind demonstrated how Google is developing AI agents across multiple domains, including gaming,\u201d Google Play Games boss Aurash Mahbod said in a blog post announcing the updates Tuesday<\/a>. \u201cSince then, Google DeepMind and Google Play have continued to collaborate to make Sidekick more helpful for gamers.\u00a0With Sidekick, you\u2019ll be able to ask for real-time conversational help from Gemini, instead of leaving the game to seek out tutorials or walkthroughs. Sidekick uses Gemini Live\u2019s screen sharing capabilities to understand your game context and deliver AI-powered, in-game guidance with verbal tips, tricks and support during gameplay.\u201d<\/p>\n Additionally, Google is launching a \u201cLevel Up\u201d benefits program for Google Play Games game developers which will offer a \u201csuite of benefits to accelerate business growth,\u201d including \u201ca new space to engage with players, access to content tools in Play Console, and enhanced discovery opportunities through editorial surfaces on the Play Store.\u201d<\/p>\n These updates to Google Play features come at a time of heightened criticism of mobile app stores among the gaming community with accusations of anti-competitive policies on fees and in-app purchases.<\/p>\n Best of Variety<\/p>\n Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A revamped version of Google\u2019s app store Google Play launched Tuesday with features including an integrated gaming platform…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":163781,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[64,63,113,37320,32523,50339,105],"class_list":["post-163780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-google","tag-google-deepmind","tag-google-play","tag-google-play-games","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163780"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163780\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}